vineri, 23 decembrie 2016

Stiri

Aleppo sees shelling, air strikes again as Assad urges peace talks

Reuters

Dec 23, 2016

By Lisa Barrington and Angus McDowall BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels
shelled Aleppo and air strikes resumed around the city on Friday as
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies said the insurgents'
withdrawal from the city could pave the way toward a political solution
for the country. A day after the last rebels left their remaining pocket
of territory in the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - a
war monitor based in Britain - said about 10 shells fell in its
southwestern al-Hamdaniya district. The Observatory said six people,
including two children, were killed. Read More

Gruesome ISIS video shows Turkish soldiers burned alive

The
Islamic State terror group has released a ghastly video that appears to
show two captured Turkish soldiers being burned alive. The video,
showing two uniformed men being hauled from a cage before being bound
and torched, was posted on jihadist websites and on Facebook, Agence
France-Presse reported Friday. ISIS said the 19-minute footage was shot
in its declared “Aleppo Province” in northern Syria. Its authenticity
could not be independently verified. In Turkey, the government shut down
social media to keep its citizens from viewing the video. Turkey
Blocks, an Internet monitoring website, told The Associated Press it had
detected the "throttling of Twitter and YouTube," affecting many users

Fox News

U.S. forces embedding more to help Iraqis retake Mosul: commander

By
Stephen Kalin MAKHMOUR, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces assisting Iraqi
troops to retake Mosul from Islamic State are embedding more
extensively, a senior commander said on Friday, a move that could
accelerate a two month-old campaign which has slackened after quick
initial advances. More than 5,000 American service members are currently
deployed in Iraq as part of an international coalition that is advising
local forces in a bid to recapture the third of the country the
jihadists seized in 2014 when Iraq's army and police dropped their
weapons and fled. Now, as Iraqi forces controlling around a quarter of
Mosul - Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq - proceed deeper
into the northern city and encounter fierce counter-attacks that render
progress slow and punishing, U.S. troops are stepping up their
involvement.

Reuters

IS 'burns Turkish troops alive' after Ankara vows no let-up

The
Islamic State jihadist group has released a video purportedly showing
two captured Turkish soldiers being burned alive, after Ankara vowed to
fight "terror" in Syria in response to 16 of its troops being killed in
battle. The 19-minute video, showing two uniformed men being hauled from
a cage before being bound and torched, was posted on jihadist websites
and was supposedly shot in the IS-declared "Aleppo Province" in northern
Syria. Speaking in Turkish, the killer of the two men criticises
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and calls for "destruction to be
sowed" in Turkey.

AFP

ISIS Publishes List Of US Churches As Potential Targets

According
to a report in Vocativ, the militant group urged its supporters to
attack churches across the U.S. during the holiday season.